Educational Benefits of Wikis Wikis are extremely flexible tools that have many classroom, professional development, and administrative uses. Classroom: Teachers can use wikis as a class management tool to mirror classroom content. A teacher can include notes, worksheets and links to websites on their wiki page. Students can use wikis to collaborative with classmates on assignments. Teachers can also collaborate and discuss lesson plans and curriculum integration, creating a bank of lessons and resources accessible to all. Professional Development: Wikis can be used for planning workshops or conferences. Trainers can post documents and other resources at the wiki prior to the workshop and have participants create and post their own notes during the event. Later, participants can return to the wiki to further reflect on what they've learned. School can upload professional development materials onto a wiki. Additionally, a discussion forum is associated with each wiki page. This is a great way to elicit feedback during professional development and to keep the conversation going afterwards. Administrative Uses: Administrators can use wikis to allow teachers, technology staff, and others help create and edit policy documents. They can also post daily notes, announcements and reminders for faculty.
Wikis in Plain English
Creating Your Own Wiki
Click on the link to access wikispace for teachers: http://www.wikispaces.com/content/for/teachers 1. Pick a username that you will use when you login in future 2. Choose a password 3. Enter your email address 4. Make a Space? Yes 5. Choose a name for your wiki space 6. Select visibility option - Public – A public space can be viewed by anyone and can also be edited by anyone. Protected – A protected space can be viewed by anyone but can only be edited by members of the space. Private – A private space can only be viewed or edited by members of the space. 7. Certify that the space is for educational use by clicking the box Finally – click on Join WIKISPACE VIRTUAL TOURS WIKISPACE TOURS 1
Creating Spaces To create a new wikispace simply click on "Make a New Space" in the sidebar at the left of your screen under "Actions". You can create as many spaces as you like. There are no limits on how big your spaces can be! Space Types Wikispaces offers three types of space: public, protected, and private Public A public space can be viewed by anyone and can also be edited by anyone. Protected A protected space can be viewed by anyone but can only be edited by members of the space. Private A private space can only be viewed or edited by members of the space. Changing your space type In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'. Under the 'Space Settings' section click 'Members and Permissions' In the 'Space Permissions' section click 'Select' for Public, Protected, or Private Editing Spaces There are several changes you can make to your space as a whole. Changing the space logo For a space that you've created, you can change the funny little bonsai tree logo as follows:
In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'.
In the 'Space Settings' section on the page, click 'Look and Feel'
In the 'Logo' section in the page, click the 'Browse' button
Browse your hard drive for the image you want to use (jpg, png, or gif, recommended size: 140 x 48 pixels)
Click the 'Send File' button Changing the space's background color For a space that you are an organizer of, you can change the background color as follows:
In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'.
In the 'Space Settings' section on the page, click 'Look and Feel'
From here you can change the settings for the way your page will look.
Adding members to a space
Click on "Manage Space" under the "Actions" section in the left menu bar.
Click on "Members and Permissions" under the "Space Settings" section
Under the "Invite a New Member" section, enter either the Wikispaces username or the Email Address of the person you wish to add to your space. (Note: If you are unsure whether the person you wish to invite already has a Wikispaces account, or if you are unsure what the person's Wikispaces user name is, enter an email address that you know belongs to the person instead.)
The person you invite will receive an email notification and once they accept, they will be a member of your space.
You will then be able to manage their membership status on your "Members and Permissions" page.
Pages Each wikispace may contain many pages. Each page is a single web page which can contain content and can link to other pages. Creating Pages To create a new page within the current space, use the "Make a New Page" link in the sidebar or just create a link to the new page in the editor. When you create a space, you'll start with one blank page called home. Click "edit" to add content to that page. Editing Pages Each editable page on Wikispaces has an "edit" button at the top of the page. Click on the "edit" button to bring up the page editor. The page editor allows you to add text and pictures to a page and to format that page. Linking Pages To create a link between pages, highlight the text you wish to link and click the earth icon in the toolbar to add a new link. You can always make links to other web pages by just typing the web address, for example: http://wikispaces.com Locking Pages Space organizers can lock pages. A locked page cannot be edited by anyone other than a space organizer. To lock a page in your space:
Click "Manage Space"
Click "List Pages"
Click "lock" next to the page you want to lock
Deleting and Renaming Pages To delete or rename a page in your space:
Click "Manage Space"
Click "List Pages"
Click "delete" or "rename" next to the page you want to delete or rename
Page History Each time someone edits a page, we take a visual snapshot of the changes so you can see in a glance how much has changed. Was it one line or the whole page? Click on 'history' at the top of any page to see all changes. Then click on the screenshot to the left of each entry to see a visual representation of the changes. You can also compare any two versions of a page by clicking "select for comparison" on one version of a page and then "compare to selected" on another. Wikispaces will keep every version of every page and make it easy for members to revert back to a previous copy. You'll never have to worry about losing changes or being stuck with a new version of a page if someone makes a mistake. Navigation Bar On the left side of each page in your space, you'll see a "Navigation" section which you can edit by clicking the "edit navigation" link under the Navigation section. The content you put on this special page will show up on every page in your space. It's a nice way to have a common menu across all the pages in your space. It's also just like any other wiki page meaning you can put in links, headings, images, lists - anything that can be on a normal page. The only difference is that bulleted lists will not have bullets displayed in order to preserve space. Discussion Areas Each page has its own discussion area to keep your discussions separate from your wiki pages.
Wikis are extremely flexible tools that have many classroom, professional development, and administrative uses.
Classroom: Teachers can use wikis as a class management tool to mirror classroom content. A teacher can include notes, worksheets and links to websites on their wiki page. Students can use wikis to collaborative with classmates on assignments. Teachers can also collaborate and discuss lesson plans and curriculum integration, creating a bank of lessons and resources accessible to all.
Professional Development: Wikis can be used for planning workshops or conferences. Trainers can post documents and other resources at the wiki prior to the workshop and have participants create and post their own notes during the event. Later, participants can return to the wiki to further reflect on what they've learned. School can upload professional development materials onto a wiki. Additionally, a discussion forum is associated with each wiki page. This is a great way to elicit feedback during professional development and to keep the conversation going afterwards.
Administrative Uses: Administrators can use wikis to allow teachers, technology staff, and others help create and edit policy documents. They can also post daily notes, announcements and reminders for faculty.
Wikis in Plain English
Creating Your Own Wiki
Click on the link to access wikispace for teachers: http://www.wikispaces.com/content/for/teachers
1. Pick a username that you will use when you login in future
2. Choose a password
3. Enter your email address
4. Make a Space? Yes
5. Choose a name for your wiki space
6. Select visibility option -
Public – A public space can be viewed by anyone and can also be edited by anyone.
Protected – A protected space can be viewed by anyone but can only be edited by members of the space.
Private – A private space can only be viewed or edited by members of the space.
7. Certify that the space is for educational use by clicking the box
Finally – click on Join
WIKISPACE VIRTUAL TOURS
WIKISPACE TOURS 1
WIKISPACE TOURS 2
WIKISPACE TOURS 3
WIKISPACE TOURS 4
WIKISPACE TOURS 5
WIKISPACE TOURS 6
Wikispace Cheat Sheet
What else can I do with my Wiki?
Creating Spaces
To create a new wikispace simply click on "Make a New Space" in the sidebar at the left of your screen under "Actions". You can create as many spaces as you like. There are no limits on how big your spaces can be!
Space Types
Wikispaces offers three types of space: public, protected, and private
Public
A public space can be viewed by anyone and can also be edited by anyone.
Protected
A protected space can be viewed by anyone but can only be edited by members of the space.
Private
A private space can only be viewed or edited by members of the space.
Changing your space type
In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'.
Under the 'Space Settings' section click 'Members and Permissions'
In the 'Space Permissions' section click 'Select' for Public, Protected, or Private
Editing Spaces
There are several changes you can make to your space as a whole.
Changing the space logo
For a space that you've created, you can change the funny little bonsai tree logo as follows:
- In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'.
- In the 'Space Settings' section on the page, click 'Look and Feel'
- In the 'Logo' section in the page, click the 'Browse' button
- Browse your hard drive for the image you want to use (jpg, png, or gif, recommended size: 140 x 48 pixels)
Click the 'Send File' buttonChanging the space's background color
For a space that you are an organizer of, you can change the background color as follows:
- In the 'Actions' menu on the left, click 'Manage Space'.
- In the 'Space Settings' section on the page, click 'Look and Feel'
- From here you can change the settings for the way your page will look.
Adding members to a space- Click on "Manage Space" under the "Actions" section in the left menu bar.
- Click on "Members and Permissions" under the "Space Settings" section
- Under the "Invite a New Member" section, enter either the Wikispaces username or the Email Address of the person you wish to add to your space. (Note: If you are unsure whether the person you wish to invite already has a Wikispaces account, or if you are unsure what the person's Wikispaces user name is, enter an email address that you know belongs to the person instead.)
- The person you invite will receive an email notification and once they accept, they will be a member of your space.
- You will then be able to manage their membership status on your "Members and Permissions" page.
PagesEach wikispace may contain many pages. Each page is a single web page which can contain content and can link to other pages.
Creating Pages
To create a new page within the current space, use the "Make a New Page" link in the sidebar or just create a link to the new page in the editor. When you create a space, you'll start with one blank page called home. Click "edit" to add content to that page.
Editing Pages
Each editable page on Wikispaces has an "edit" button at the top of the page.
Click on the "edit" button to bring up the page editor. The page editor allows you to add text and pictures to a page and to format that page.
Linking Pages
To create a link between pages, highlight the text you wish to link and click the earth icon in the toolbar to add a new link.
You can always make links to other web pages by just typing the web address, for example: http://wikispaces.com
Locking Pages
Space organizers can lock pages. A locked page cannot be edited by anyone other than a space organizer.
To lock a page in your space:
- Click "Manage Space"
- Click "List Pages"
- Click "lock" next to the page you want to lock
Deleting and Renaming PagesTo delete or rename a page in your space:
- Click "Manage Space"
- Click "List Pages"
- Click "delete" or "rename" next to the page you want to delete or rename
Page HistoryEach time someone edits a page, we take a visual snapshot of the changes so you can see in a glance how much has changed. Was it one line or the whole page? Click on 'history' at the top of any page to see all changes. Then click on the screenshot to the left of each entry to see a visual representation of the changes.
You can also compare any two versions of a page by clicking "select for comparison" on one version of a page and then "compare to selected" on another.
Wikispaces will keep every version of every page and make it easy for members to revert back to a previous copy. You'll never have to worry about losing changes or being stuck with a new version of a page if someone makes a mistake.
Navigation Bar
On the left side of each page in your space, you'll see a "Navigation" section which you can edit by clicking the "edit navigation" link under the Navigation section.
The content you put on this special page will show up on every page in your space. It's a nice way to have a common menu across all the pages in your space.
It's also just like any other wiki page meaning you can put in links, headings, images, lists - anything that can be on a normal page. The only difference is that bulleted lists will not have bullets displayed in order to preserve space.
Discussion Areas
Each page has its own discussion area to keep your discussions separate from your wiki pages.
Make Your Wiki Stand Out from the Rest
http://gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com/home